11: Chapter 11 A First Exploration of the Herb Garden Using Spiritual Arts

Three days later, Ye Qing, carrying his token and Jade Slip, arrived at the Qingxi Valley in the back mountain.

The Spiritual Qi here was much denser than in the Servant Quarters. A stream gurgled, the vegetation was lush, and scattered along the valley were some simple Immortal Caves or courtyards, mostly residences for Outer Sect Disciples.

Following the instructions on the Jade Slip, he found the Herb Garden on the east side, enclosed by a low fence.

The Herb Garden was not large, about half a mu in size, neatly divided into seven or eight plots.

The leaves of the ninglu grass were hung with fine dewdrops, the moonlight flowers shimmered with a silvery-white luster under the sunlight, and the iron wire vines wound and climbed on specially made wooden frames.

The growth was decent, but from the perspective of Ye Qing, who had "thoroughly read" the *Compendium of Hundred Herbs*, it could only be considered average; the management was slightly rough.

He took out his token and injected a wisp of Spiritual Qi.

A faint light shimmered on the fence, and a gateway quietly appeared.

Ye Qing stepped inside. First, following the requirements of the Jade Slip, he bowed to a blue stone monument in the center of the Herb Garden, signaling to the owner that he had arrived.

Then, he rolled up his sleeves, took tools from the wooden shed in the corner, and began to work.

The water used for irrigation was running water drawn from a nearby stream, containing a faint amount of Water Spiritual Qi.

Weeding required extra caution; he could not damage the roots of the Spirit Medicine.

Ye Qing worked very carefully, his movements unhurried, perfectly fitting the image of a "dutiful Utility Disciple."

But secretly, his fingertips would occasionally brush against the branches and leaves of those Spirit Medicine, pretending it was unintentional.

A clear, joyful palpitation came from the space within his body.

These growing First-Grade Spirit Medicine emitted life energy and medicinal aura far beyond what weeds or withered branches could compare to.

However, Ye Qing was very restrained.

He only "felt" them, without absorbing.

First day on the job, safety first. If something went wrong with the Spirit Medicine, he could not afford to pay for it.

After weeding and watering were finished, he took out the Jade Slip recording the "precautions" and confirmed again.

It mentioned that if he had extra energy, he could use the "Spirit Nurturing Technique" or the "Cloud and Rain Art" to gently nourish Spirit Medicine that were growing slightly weakly, but he must avoid overdoing it.

Ye Qing's heart stirred.

He walked over to a plot of ninglu grass that looked slightly dim.

Concentrating his mind and calming his Qi, he gathered a wisp of weak, nourishing Spiritual Qi at his fingertips.

Then, he carefully and slowly introduced this bit of Spiritual Qi into the roots of one of the ninglu grass plants.

In his perception, that weak Spiritual Qi was like spring rain seeping into parched land, quickly absorbed by the ninglu grass.

The originally slightly wilted leaves seemed to stand up a little at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and the "dewdrops" on the leaf surfaces seemed to become half a shade more crystalline.

The effect was weak, but it definitely existed.

Furthermore, the moment his Spiritual Qi made contact with the Spirit Medicine, the space within his body seemed to "record" this subtle process of interaction between Spiritual Qi and the vitality of the Spirit Medicine, and the refreshing sensation it fed back actually carried a trace of faint plant vitality.

"It works! My pseudo-wood attribute Spiritual Qi, after being purified and simulated by the space, can indeed achieve a weak Spirit Nurturing effect! Moreover, the space seems to be able to absorb and learn fragments of the Law of this 'vitality interaction'?"

This discovery made Ye Qing's spirit soar.

He did not get greedy, only casting the weak Spirit Nurturing Technique on three or five Spirit Medicine that were growing weakly.

The entire process had minimal Spiritual Qi fluctuations; even if someone were observing in secret, they would only think this Utility Disciple's Spirit Nurturing Technique was of low level, better than nothing.

After doing this, he checked the Herb Garden again, confirmed everything was correct, and prepared to leave.

"Wait."

A slightly rough voice came from the wooden hut next to the Herb Garden.

The door opened, and a tall, middle-aged man wearing the cyan robes of an Outer Sect Disciple walked out. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a short beard on his chin, and his cultivation was exactly at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.

It was the owner of this place, Uncle-Master Zhao Ming.

Ye Qing quickly bowed: "Disciple Ye Qing greets Uncle-Master Zhao. The Herb Garden has been taken care of, please inspect it, Uncle-Master."

Zhao Ming's gaze swept across the Herb Garden, and he nodded slightly: "The work is done quite neatly. Did you use the Spirit Nurturing Technique on those ninglu grass?"

"Yes, Disciple saw a few of them were slightly wilted, so I tried to cast it. However, Disciple's cultivation is shallow, and my Spell is crude, so I fear the effect is limited." Ye Qing replied with his head lowered, his tone respectful.

"No matter, it is good that you have the heart." Zhao Ming waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned. "The person recommended by Old Liu is quite reliable. This is the payment for this time."

He tossed over a Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

Ye Qing caught it and thanked him.

"Come again at this time in ten days." After Zhao Ming finished speaking, he turned and returned to the wooden hut, closing the door.

Ye Qing put away the Spirit Stone, exited the Herb Garden, and the fenced gateway closed silently.

On the way back to the Servant Quarters, he calculated in his heart.

One Low-Grade Spirit Stone per visit, once every ten days, that makes three per month.

Plus the two stones from the Library Pavilion monthly salary, that is a stable monthly income of five Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

For a Utility Disciple, this was already a quite good income.

More importantly, contact with the Herb Garden allowed him to observe the growth of Spirit Medicine on-site, practice the Spirit Nurturing Technique, and even... perhaps have the opportunity to come into contact with some "unnoticed" things?

For example, naturally fallen withered leaves?

For example, excess vines trimmed off?

For example, the weeds that were removed and stained with the aura of Spirit Medicine?

These things might be worthless to Uncle-Master Zhao Ming, but to that non-picky space inside his body, they might be good snacks?

"Must plan well, long-term and steady. Cannot arouse any suspicion."

Ye Qing made up his mind; next time he went, he could try to "incidentally" take away some "useless trash."

Returning to the Library Pavilion, Ye Qing cleaned and read as usual.

Life returned to a calm rhythm.

Only every ten days, he would have an extra "Herb Garden Odd Job" on his schedule.

Every time he went, he meticulously completed the watering and weeding, and then "coincidentally" there would be a few Spirit Medicine that "needed" him to cast the weak Spirit Nurturing Technique to nourish them.

Every time he left, he would also "incidentally" pack up and take away the withered branches and leaves piled up in the corner of the Herb Garden waiting to be cleaned, with the excuse of "avoiding pest infestations that would affect the Spirit Medicine."

Uncle-Master Zhao Ming was noncommittal about this, seemingly happy that someone was helping to deal with this trash.

These withered branches and leaves, to Ye Qing, were little surprises.

Although the Spiritual Qi loss was severe, they were, after all, remnants of Spirit Medicine, and the energy they contained far exceeded ordinary weeds.

He brought them back to a secluded place in the back mountain and absorbed them quietly.

Each time, it allowed the gray fog at the edge of the space to expand a little, and the energy fed back was also quite substantial.

His cultivation, under this stable accumulation, slowly marched towards the Perfection of the Third Level of Qi Refining.

This day, while Ye Qing was weeding the Herb Garden, he discovered a small piece of dark red, thumb-thick withered vine entangled at the roots of an iron wire vine.

This withered vine had no vitality, was as hard as iron, and was completely out of place with the vibrant iron wire vines around it, looking like an "old object" that had died and been entangled here a long time ago.

Ye Qing originally wanted to casually pull it out and throw it away.

The moment his fingertips touched the withered vine, the space within his body transmitted a suction force that was stronger and clearer than when facing fresh Spirit Medicine remnants!

This suction force was not aimed at life energy, but at the peculiar, enduring "material" of the withered vine itself, which had survived the passage of time, as well as some kind of faint and stubborn "Metal-Iron Qi" sealed within it.

Ye Qing's movements paused. His face remained calm, and he continued weeding, but he quietly tucked the dark red withered vine into his sleeve.

When the "trash" was packed up that day, it naturally included it.

Returning to the old spot, Ye Qing took out this withered vine.

He examined it carefully; it was neither wood nor stone, feeling heavy and cold in his hand.

He tried injecting Spiritual Qi, but there was no reaction.

"What on earth is this? It doesn't look like a withered branch of an iron wire vine..."

He no longer hesitated, gripped the withered vine, and communicated with the space.

The suction force came.

This time, the absorption speed was very slow, not as swift as absorbing Spirit Stones or broken jade.

The withered vine extremely slowly lost its color, becoming grayish-white and brittle.

A pure and dense, strange energy carrying a sharp aura was slowly extracted and injected into the space.

The gray fog at the edge of the space trembled slightly. The extent of expansion was not large, but the energy fed back was exceptionally pure and thick, and carried a connotation of "sturdiness" and "sharpness," making his own Spiritual Qi seem to solidify a bit.

"Good stuff! Although I don't know exactly what it is, the quality of the energy it contains is very high. It seems to be helpful for strengthening the characteristics of Spiritual Qi?"

Ye Qing looked at the withered vine in his hand, which had finally turned into a pinch of gray powder, and felt pleasantly surprised.

Sure enough, moving around more and working more always leads to some unexpected gains.

He carefully cleaned up the powder, leaving no trace.

It seems this Herb Garden odd job can not only earn Spirit Stones but also "pick up trash" to replenish the space's nutrition.

It is truly a conscientious part-time job with "good pay, few tasks, close to home, and hidden benefits."

Ye Qing patted the dust off his hands in a happy mood, humming a tuneless little song, and walked back to his residence in the sunset.

On the road of steady development, another unexpected fortune has been added.